Using The Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of New Jersey from the NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, I tried to identify this little fellow we found among some of the garden clippings. He looked reddish brown with very small white spots all over his body. The belly was the same color. As you can see in the picture, he didn’t want to sit still for a photograph, so we quickly snapped these pictures and then let him go into the Egg Garden. Interestingly, it also looked like he may have recently lost his tail. If someone more knowledgeable can verify or correct the identification, leave a comment.
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End of Season Roses: Delicata on Goldberry Hill
End of Season Roses: Cecil Brunner on Goldberry Hill
Locally Raised Organic Turkeys for Thanksgiving
Do you like to eat fresh, organic meats? Do you serve Turkey for Thanksgiving? Do you like supporting local farms? If yes and you live in northern New Jersey, I highly recommend pre-ordering your Turkey for Thanksgiving from Vacchiano Farms. They just started taking orders last Sunday at the Summit Farmers’ Market. We tried their turkey last year and it was the best we ever had.
Coping with Slopes – Gardening Gone Wild’s Garden Bloggers’ Design Workshop
This month’s Garden Bloggers’ Design Workshop at Gardening Gone Wild is on Coping with Slopes. Given that my whole property is one big downward slope, I look forward to reading others’ posts.
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When we were house hunting back in 2001, I was only a beginning gardener. I had dabbled with gardening in Brooklyn, but wasn’t so serious that how I would garden on this property’s slope wasn’t even a consideration. Once I got more serious about gardening, I wished for a flat property, but worked with what I had.
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Here are a few prior posts about my experiences:
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1. Five Ideas for the Downward Sloping Front Yard
2. Creating the Egg Garden on my Front Slope
3. Goldberry Hill Last Summer (pictured above)
4. Goldberry Hill Last Spring
5. How to Build Raised (Vegetable) Beds on a Slope
6. How to Build a Children’s Playhouse (Fort) on a Slope
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For a map of how the gardens are situated on the property, click here. If I have more time, I’ll write some additional posts about a few more of the sloped areas: Lilac Hill and the new stone staircase to the backyard.
End of Season Roses: Ballerina on Goldberry Hill
End of Season Roses: Dortmund on the Arbor
Rosa Rubrifolia Hips on Goldberry Hill
Celine Forestier (1842), Noisette Rose, on the Arbor to the Children’s Garden
Heirloom Gardener 
